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Not that mobile

I am a huge fan of Britax products and have owned various strollers and car seats manufactured by them. This review is for the B-Mobile model of pushchair which I purchased in Red from Argos on the sale price of £64.99.

The pushchair is very strong and sturdy and seems to withstand the great outdoors well.

The harness is a five point buckle system, and comes with padded strap pads which can easily be removed for washing. I purchased this for my 1 year old as a more grown up pushchair. For this reason I only used it as pushchair but you can also purchase a carrycot separately that clips on to the frame aswell as the Britax car seat. I have never used it in this way so can't give comment on these. The pushchair seat however is suitable from birth as it is fully reclining, also great for sleeping toddlers. The seat also has various other positions which are controlled by a buckle at the back of the seat, that you either pull or loosen depending on if you want the seat up or down.

The hood can be pushed forward to protect from sunlight or to attach the raincover (the hood must be forward to do this) and 2 clips on either side snap down to keep the hood in a forward position and released to push it back. There is also a small plastic window on the top of the hood which is covered by a Velcro fastened flap so you can check on your child whilst walking along. And there is also a pocket on the back to keep any bits you might need close to hand and again is fastened by Velcro.

The folding system is very simple, you simply lift up a clip at the side and push and the pushchair folds in half. It easily fits in the small boot of my Corsa.

The front wheels are swivel or can be locked into position. To lock them there is a clip above each front wheel which you push down to lock or up to swivel. The shopping basket is also a decent size for your shopping which is handy as you cannot hang shopping bags from the handles. It also has a zip to prevent your shopping from falling out.

The disadvantages are it is quite heavy to push, especially my now 2 year old as he is pretty heavy and occasionally the wheels struggle to turn. It is also not great in the snow as the wheels are fairly small and just rolls the snow along so you end up with clumps of snow in front of your wheels and can't move. The raincover is also poor quality. I am on my 3rd now and they are not cheap and all of them have had the same problem, the Velcro fastenings have snapped.

All in all I would recommend this pushchair as it is still going strong after 18 months. I will however be deducting a star due to it's heaviness and difficulty to steer.

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Compact pushchair

When I was pregnant I went around the local baby shops looking for the perfect pushchair and was overwhelmed with the choice there is out there.I finally worked out a checklist of what I needed/wanted in a pushchair- 1 - it had to fold down compact enough to fit in my boot (new style Mini)2 - It had to be compatible with a car seat, so I could use it as a travel system3 - I wanted a car seat that was Isofix compatible4 - it had to be cheap enough for me to afford it!

The Britax B-Mobile fit the bill.

~ Cost and Availability ~

As Britax is a large name in the pushchair world, so is available from most shops that sell pushchairs. They normally retail for around £140, however, I kept an eye on the prices online and managed to get it from Tesco Direct in the sale for £89. The reason it was so cheap was that I got the old model, there was an updated model in 2011, which as far as I can see it is only colours which differ.

~ The pushchair ~

The pushchair is a basic pushchair and doesn't come with any extras i.e. cosy toes, rain cover etc so these are all an extra cost which need to be accounted for.

The chair can be used from birth as the seat can lay completely flat, however, my daughter did look very small in the chair and I mainly used the car seat attached to the pushchair frame when she was new born as it looks so much cosier.

The chair says it can be used up to 15kg, which I would say around 3 years old.

The chair comes with a 5 point harness with removable shoulder pads. This means that the child is held in the chair securely. They are easily adjusted with the usual sliding fittings.

The recline is very simple to adjust, just release a clasp at the back and move the strap to the height you want. This is good, as my daughter now wants to sit up straight, but often falls asleep when we go for a long walk, so when she falls asleep I lay her back. The movement is very smooth so it doesn't wake her up.

It has a foot brake on the back wheels, with just a foot push button on the right side. I have found that this can be a little stiff and sometimes gets stuck and you have to wiggle the wheel slightly until the break bar is in the wheel straight to be able to release. I also found that it is not easy to release when wearing flip flops or open toed sandals as it is just a plastic tab which you flick up and down, I ended up using my hand to release. However, when the break is on, the wheels do not move at all, so it does do the job well.

The front wheels can be free moving (like trolley wheels) or locked in place. I am not sure for what reason you would want it locked in place, as I find the chair extremely difficult to move around when the wheels are locked at the front. I am sure some people like this but I cannot get on with it at all. However, it is easy to lock and release the wheel with a kick of a push tab on each wheel at the front.

It comes with a basket underneath the chair, it is not the biggest basket in the world, but big enough to put a bag of potatoes (I walk to my local green grocers!). The basket has mesh sides so if it is wet out I wouldn't recommend putting anything there that you mind getting splashed.

The chair is only forward facing, which I was a little sad that I couldn't stare at my little girl while walking around, however, now she is a bit older she loves looking around when we are out so this is fine. As I said above when she was small I mainly used the car seat in the pushchair which is rear facing so I could stare at her all I wanted!

The wheels are solid plastic so puncture resistant (which wasn't something I even thought of when looking for a pushchair).

The chair comes with a shower proof sun hood, this covers over the top of the chair, and has a little clear window which you can uncover to look down at your baby (mine is always open and I peek every now and then). At the back of the hood there is a little pocket, which is not huge (you still need a bag), but is handy for quick access to things like your mobile/purse/dummy.

All the seat fabrics clip off for a proper clean, they are clipped using a large press studs which are a bit stiff to push and can hurt your fingers, however, these keep the seat safely in place.

The chair comes in a range of colours, black, grey, red and aqua blue. I have black which looks very classy and doesn't get dirty easily.

The push handle is a bar handle which is quite chunky with a soft spongy grip all along the handle which is nice to hold onto. It is also the perfect size to put those buggy clips on which hold your carrier bags.

When folded the chair is extremely compact, I don't have the most family friendly car (new Mini), which as you expect has a very tiny boot. When folded down it measures only 27cm * 62cm * 88cm, so should fit in any car boot. The back wheels are detachable, and you do have to remove them when you put it in my boot, which can be a bit annoying especially when it is wet outside, but most cars you would not need to do this.

To fold down the chair is quite simple just press the stop lock down with your thumb and pull the locks up on both sides of the handle simultaneously and the pushchair folds down. When folded it has a clip which holds the pushchair in place.

Another slightly annoying thing about this chair is the back wheels stick out to the side of the pushchair frame, which I keep catching on stands in shops (not managed to know anything completely down yet).

~ Compatible accessories ~

As the pushchair comes with basically nothing, you have to shell out extra for accessories:

Rain cover - the Britax raincover costs around £10-15, this fits onto the hood on the pushchair and to the frame using Velcro tabs. This is a bit fiddly, but does make sure my little girl is nice and dry underneath.

Cosy toes - I bought the Britax branded cosy toes for around £35-40, which simply sits in the seat with holes for the harness to poke through. Naively I presumed you had to buy the cosy toes to go with the pushchair, however, looking around the non branded names, they look like they would fit fine and would have saved me a lot of money. However, I think a cosy toes is a must for this pushchair, as without, it wouldn't be very practical in the colder months. The cosy toes has a lovely soft fleece inside, and is quite thick so is very cosy inside, as it can be cold sitting still in a pushchair. The top of the cosy toes can be folded down, held down with little toggle, if the child wants to sit up straight and look around, or be zipped up to the top so when your child is laying back or sleeping it acts as a windbreaker to their face.

~ Travel system ~

The pushchair came with adapters which mean the Britax Baby Safe SHR car seat can easily clip into the chair. It uses a one hand button press release system, which makes attaching and removing the car seat from the pushchair is really easy.

You can also get carry cot (£120) & soft carry cot (£80) which can attach to the pushchair and your baby can lay completely flat. I didn't see the need for this as I didn't take my daughter for very long walks when she was young. It may be useful if you are intending on walking around for hours, your baby would be more comfortable. However, as the pushchair does lay completely flat I didn't think I would need this. Also a carry cot would not fit in my car boot in addition to the pushchair.

~ Conclusion ~

On the whole this is a great pushchair and meets my needs, there are just a couple of niggly issues. However I would recommend this if you need a compact pushchair.

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A good stroller for the price!

I bought a Graco travel system when I was pregnant and by the time my daughter got to 5 months I was fed up of lugging it in and out of my car, it was very heavy and it took up the whole of my boot. I browsed around for a few weeks reading various reviews on lightweight pushchairs and decided on the Britax B-Mobile 4. The RRP of this stroller is £199, however it was half price in Argos that weekend so an absolute bargain for £99.

The stroller comes in four colours, black thunder, blue atoll, cloud cream and venetian red which was the colour I chose.

The stroller is suitable from birth to 15kg which is approximately 4 years of age. If the pushchair is used from birth it has to be laid flat, or you can convert the stroller to a travel system using adapters and either the Britax car seat or Britax carry cot, I haven't tested this function but the adapters you need come in the box. This pushchair does not come with a raincover this needs to be purchased separately it costs around £14.99 from Amazon.

When I first collected the pushchair I was pleased with how light it was, it weighs 8kg. Out of the box there was some minor assembly required which took less than ten minutes. The instuctions were clear and easy to follow. To put the pushchair up from flat you simply unclip the safety catch and pull the pushchair up by the handle until it 'clicks' into place. The pushchair when up measures H 99cm, W 62cm and L 98cm. The pushchair fells really solid when it is up, it looks a lot heavier than what it is. It has a chunky looking brushed aluminium frame. The seat of the pushchair is coloured in red with black patches around the foot area, down the sides of the seat and a small patch on the back. The material is a really good quality and so far we have found it to be easy to wipe clean, the covers can also be removed by unzipping and are machine washable. There is a detachable showerproof hood which is also red, it has a roll back flap to reveal what we call a little 'sunroof' so you can see what your baby is doing. There is also a small pocket at the back of the hood for your mobile phone, purse and keys.

My daughter was 5 months when I bought this and she was able to sit up so immediately we had her in the upright position. The seat is really comfy for her, there is a lot of room in the pushchair. The 5 point harness is easy to fasten and it comes with shoulder pads which can be removed. The pushchair is multi-recline, at the back there is a small strap with a large plastic toggle this can be adjusted to suit you. The pushchair does recline totally flat and this can be done with the minimal amount of effort so it is easy to recline without disturbing your baby. The pushchair has suspension and the tyres are made from a rubbery puncture proof material, this makes the ride of the pushchair really smooth and even when we have walked over cobbled or really bumpy surfaces my daughter hasn't flinched or jiggled around. The front wheels can be locked into position or left to swivel, this makes the pushchair very manouverable, it is easy to push one handed which I often find myself doing. Another thing worth mentioning is that the design of the pushchair means that the back wheels are wider than the front, this adds to the manouverabillity. I have taken the pushchair on the beach and the tyres are nice and wide so they cope realy well in the sand. The handle of the pushchair is one bar which is covered in a really comfy foam, the height of the handle is 100cm, my parther who is 6 foot has no problem pushing this and it is also a great height for me (I am 5ft6). The pushchair also features a shopping basket which is a good size and has two zips each side to allow access while the seat is fully reclined, this allows you to access the contents without disturbing your baby. The hood of the pushchair is sufficient to keep out the majority of the sun when it is really sunny it is however a little smaller than hoods I have seen on other pushchairs, you can easily attach a parasol to the pushchair though. The hood is showerproof, it is made from a really thick material and has a plasticy lining underneath the raincover actually attaches to the outer part of the hood using velcro and clips under the foot rest of the pushchair. The rain cover is really good, it isn't bulky like other cheaper pushchairs I have tested, the only downside is the raincover can't be folded back when not in use, it has to be removed, it can however be rolled up and fitted in the shopping basket still allowing room for other things. The brake on the pushchair is click-on click-off so you don't ruin your shoes releasing the brake.

Another thing I was looking for in a stroller was something easy to fold and put into the boot of the car. This pushchair has a safety catch on the handle which you unclip and then two catches you pull towards you. The pushchair then simply folds in half onto itself and is neatly flat when folded. It measures H 27cm, W 62cm and L 88cm. There is a safety catch to hold the pushchair in the folded position. The pushchair is easy to pick up when folded and it only takes up half of the space in the boot compared to my old travel system, we have a Fiat Stilo and a Mazda RX-8 and we are still able to get our shopping in the boot.

One thing I wasn't too keen on was the lack of a bar or tray on the front, my daughter likes this to hold onto while being pushed, I did however find a bar on Amazon for £14.99, it is made by Britax specifically for this pushchair and simply clips onto the front. It is made from a plain black material so it would match any of the pushchairs in the range. Another thing this pushchair lacks is an adjustable foot rest, not that this bothers my daughter as she likes to rest her feet on the bar on occasion, it would be a nice feature to include.

I love this pushchair, we have been using it for just over 2 months and it has saved my back and freed up a lot of space in the car!